Why Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol Were Absent from Ahana Deol's Wedding

Esha Deol

LAST WEEK BOLLYWOOD celebrated a big fat wedding when Hema and Dharamendra hosted a grand ceremony for daughter Ahana who tied the knot with Vaibhav Vora. Unlike sister Esha, Ahana hasn’t ever faced the camera nor had she evinced interest in becoming an actress. Yet the starry turnout for her wedding was incredible – a testimony to the respect and popularity her parents Dharamendra and Hema Malini still command in the industry. However, the absence of two people made headlines – Ahana’s step-brothers Sunny and Bobby Deol. Their no-show once again highlighted the fractions in one of Bollywood’s most prominent film families.

In a way, history repeated itself. A couple of years ago when Esha Deol got married, it was reportedly Hema who made all the arrangements. Sunny and Bobby were conspicuous by their absence even back then. In fact, Dharam got incensed when reporters questioned him about his sons at Esha’s wedding but the truth was there for all to see! Even this time around, it was Hema who was at the forefront, organising everything though her husband was there throughout the ceremonies.

All of these incidents point out to the awkward equations that still exist between Dharam’s two families. Dharam and Hema, the hottest couple of the 70s, had gotten married despite him being legally wedded to Prakash. The wedding happened in quite dramatic circumstances. Hema, the story goes, was apparently tired of waiting for Dharam’s commitment and had said yes to her other suitor, Jeetendra. Hema and Jeetu had almost tied the knot but a madly-in-love Dharam finally took the plunge and wooed back the woman he loved. However, the couple still lived separately with Dharam dividing his time between the two families.

It’s been said that Sunny and Bobby still owe their loyalty to their mom though they are fond of the girls. On a talk show Esha had once spoken about how “Sunny bhaiyya” used to get her gifts and how fond she is of him. Yet it’s strange that neither Sunny nor Bobby considered it fit to attend any of the ceremonies! To be fair, Sunny and Bobby were perhaps afraid of the consequences and the media circus that was bound to follow their attendance. So they came up with their own excuses. Bobby was in Dubai for the Celebrity Cricket League match which got over before Ahana’s wedding day. While his teammates returned to Mumbai, Bobby allegedly decided to stay on in Dubai. Sunny, on the other hand, has always kept himself away from events – even if it’s the promotion of his own films! While there was some buzz about him not being in the city on those days, he was seen at a function with politician Narendra Modi and Lata Mangeshkar around that time. Of course, their absence did not take away the fun or the pomp of Ahana’s wedding day. However, the family picture was far from complete.